


A Midsummer's Daydream

by soundofez



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, ML Writer Zine, MLWZ, Miraculous Ladybug Writer Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28307712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soundofez/pseuds/soundofez
Summary: Ladybug wakes up and falls in love with Cat Noir! It's like a dream come true... except that it isn't. They still have an akumatized Oberon and his sentimonster Puck to defeat, and who knows how Ladybug will feel after she's been purified.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, ladynoir
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28
Collections: ML Writer Zine: Once Upon a Season





	A Midsummer's Daydream

**Author's Note:**

> written for [@mlwriterzine](https://mlwriterzine.tumblr.com/), beta'd by the wonderful [@128andfalling](https://128andfalling.tumblr.com/) and [@powerdragonmoon](https://powerdragonmoon.tumblr.com/). thanks to the entire team for an absolutely fantastic zine!
> 
> [ [tumblr](https://soundofez.tumblr.com/post/638452836415471616/written-for-mlwriterzine-betad-by-the) ]

The afternoon sun beats hot on Cat Noir's head as he leaps across the Parisian rooftops. It's just the right sort of summer day for ice cream, or a trip to the beach, or a long nap. Ladybug herself is asleep, snoring gently against Cat Noir's shoulder.

Some tiny part of him is quietly enjoying the feeling. The rest of him is panicking, because there is an akuma on the loose and a sentimonster on his heels.

"Stay away!" he yelps, clutching Ladybug closer to his chest as he flees.

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!" the sentimonster replies. "Black cat, I wish but to parley."

"No!" Cat Noir drops into an alley and takes several sharp corners, then knocks a manhole cover spinning to dive into the sewers.

He turns another couple of corners, the back of his neck still prickling with nerves and sticky sweat. The sewers are marginally cooler, shielded as they are from the summer sun, but they are also stiflingly humid.

And, of course, they stink.

Cat Noir keeps running for a few minutes. When the sentimonster doesn't appear, he slows to a jog. "It's amazing you're still asleep, you know," he tells Ladybug as he nudges her mouth shut. "I regret coming down here. You're going to regret it, too."

"These shadows do offend," someone agrees in a mocking voice. A grinning green face melts out of the brickwork at Cat Noir's feet.

Cat Noir screams and breaks into a run again, leaving the sentimonster behind.

"Nor perfect is your face!" it calls after him. "But do attend; pray quit the race?"

Adrien keeps running, of course, ignoring the throbbing dread in his ears, the rising panic in his chest. He's been through these tunnels countless times, trying over and over to keep his Lady safe—but that had been as Aspik, not as Cat Noir, and the sewers had been chilly with spring, not humid with summer.

At least he had not been alone, though.

"Poor cat who loves the ladybug!" the sentimonster calls. Its voice echoes through the sweltering tunnels.

"Mind your own business," Cat Noir snaps. Yes, he loves her. No, she doesn't love him back. He knows all this already, and he's not about to let a sentimonster throw that in his face.

"About that." The grinning green face appears in front of him again, and he nearly trips trying to stop his momentum. He's still catching his footing when it says, "You know very well my drug."

It takes him a moment to understand what the sentimonster is suggesting. The akuma Oberon put people to sleep; the sentimonster woke them up, only to have them fall in love with the first people they set eyes on. He hadn't had the chance to think of its power beyond the chaos it was creating in Paris, but now that he has … Adrien's breath catches despite himself. After all this time, the idea that Ladybug might love him still catches his heart and sets it aflame. " _No_ ," he tries to say, but the word comes out as a choked whisper.

The sentimonster's grin vanishes as the rest of its body appears. It shrugs carelessly, but there is a deadly intent in its golden eyes. "Then fate decrees: she shall love me."

Cat Noir _snarls_ , a sound that rumbles from his chest and tears out of his throat with more ferocity than he'd known he had. "No!" He clutches Ladybug's sleeping form closer, turning her head into his shoulder to guard her eyes as he backs away from the sentimonster.

"Those things do best please me that befall preposterously," it muses. "For her to love me is less silly than for her to love thee. Here is the treaty: I wake her, she loves you, you free me, and the butterfly sees defeat."

Adrien stares. "Free you?" he repeats.

The sentimonster ignores the question. Instead, he sticks out a small hand to shake. "Have we a pact, then?"

Adrien eyes the hand warily. "Why help us? _How_ are you helping us? Without the object that made you—"

"My master set me on your path." The sentimonster flutters in an impatient circle around Cat Noir's head. He's small, the size of a child, with pointed ears and gossamer gold wings: a fairy. "And here we chat!" He nods to himself, a sharp, proud motion. "But my master was mistaken: he spoke of who, not how or when." He winks. "Have we a pact, Monsieur Black Cat?"

"But how—?"

The sentimonster's grin vanishes again, his voice turning from sunlight to storm without warning. "I said, _have we a pact_?"

Adrien scowls. "I won't let you hurt her."

" _I_ shan't," the sentimonster says, rolling his eyes. He sticks out a hand. "My hand shall not bring the ladybug alarm. Here is the charm: I wake her, she loves you, you free me, and the butterfly sees his plans disarmed."

Adrien isn't completely sure what possesses him to take the sentimonster's hand. Still, he only tries to snatch his hand back when he feels a tingle of magic run up his spine. "What was that?" he demands.

"A pact is a pact," the sentimonster intones. "My hand shall not bring the ladybug alarm. Here is the charm: I wake her, she loves you, you free me, and the butterfly sees his plans disarmed." The mocking tone has left his voice: he sounds like he is reciting an oath. "The peafowl, too," he adds, in his own voice again, as he releases Cat Noir's hand. He extends the same hand toward Ladybug. "Now, my cue?"

Adrien doesn't have time to refuse: the sentimonster's hand is already resting on Ladybug's mask, green skin pressed over red fabric. She stirs immediately, and the sentimonster vanishes from sight. "My work is through," says the mocking voice. Adrien starts to look for him, but Ladybug shudders in his arms and draws his eye, as helplessly attracted as Plagg to cheese. Ladybug will always be his first priority.

Her eyes snap open, clear and sharp—Adrien wonders, hopes, dreads that maybe the sentimonster's magic has failed—for just an instant before a blush lights her cheeks, as if her mask is staining them red. Her hand lifts to his cheek. "You're so beautiful," she says softly.

He trembles at her touch, at how tender it is, how adoring. _So this is Ladybug in love,_ he thinks.

"I've been blind," she murmurs. "You're so much more beautiful than he is."

His heart stops, stutters, threatens to choke him with jealousy and guilt. What is he doing? What has he _done_? He swallows to put his heart back in his chest. "Who is he?" he whispers, because he has to know.

Ladybug leans up. "My sweet Cat Noir," she whispers against his lips, "he doesn't matter anymore."

She presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth, chaste yet intimate, as scorching as the summer sun. He turns toward it despite the gnawing at his heart.

 _He doesn't matter anymore,_ he repeats to himself. _Whoever he is, he doesn't matter._ But he _does_ matter, this mysterious other man—he _must_ , to have held Ladybug's love for so long. Adrien aches to know what kind of person he is, to know why Ladybug has loved him so steadily. He wants to be that person. He wants to be _better_. His Lady deserves the best.

Ladybug kisses him, and it's everything he'd ever dreamed. He loses himself in the heat of her clinging lips and adoring hands and kisses her back.

His head feels light. He's forgetting to breathe. He breaks the kiss to press his forehead against hers, closes his eyes and sinks to his knees, shaking.

The dread is back and stronger than ever. Maybe it had never left, had instead brewed like a summer storm. It thunders now in his chest, overflows into his already-starved lungs, drowns him with oppressive shame. Why? _Why_ should he be ashamed? Why, when he is so close to having his dreams come true, does he feel so upset?

He can't think. He doesn't _want_ to think, not when Ladybug is trying to kiss him again. It would be so easy to let her, to throw away his reservations and lose himself in all of her, so he does.

There is applause. Adrien agrees. This is very applause-worthy.

Ladybug seems to disagree. At the second clap, she is already out of Cat Noir's arms and on her feet, yo-yo at the ready. "Who—You're the sentimonster!"

The sentimonster performs a flourishing bow, neatly dodging Ladybug's yo-yo as it whips over his head. "I am your humble servant Puck, good Ladybug."

"Cat Noir!" Ladybug cries, and he is on his feet, baton out, an automatic reaction to years of hearing her call for him.

"My hand shall not bring the ladybug alarm. Here is the charm: I wake her, she loves you, you free me, and the butterfly sees his plans disarmed," Puck recites, and Adrien feels that tingle run up his spine again.

"He's on our side, Ladybug," he blurts, and once the words are out he has to blink away the feeling of magical compulsion. "S-sort of," he adds.

Ladybug is scowling. "Then he's like … the other Ladybug?" She shakes her head. "But where is the object that made you? How are you doing this?"

Puck waves a dismissive hand. "Another time, another tale: I've not time to regale," he says. "Hark, instead, to come anon: the manner of defeat of Oberon."

He starts to explain, but after barely two sentences, Ladybug turns to Cat Noir. "If I do this," she says, and there's a new distress in her voice. "If I purify the akuma, I'll stop loving you, won't I? I'll hurt you."

Adrien feels like he's taken a Cataclysm to the gut. She's right—her Miraculous Ladybug will change her back, probably by wiping her memories. She'll go back to normal—or will she? She's so strikingly _herself_ , even now looking farther ahead than Adrien had considered.

Maybe she'll still love him after, when Puck's magic is gone— _no_. He can't let himself think that. He can't let himself dream of their future after this fight. After today, she will go back to the way she was. She will stop loving him. _She will stop loving him._ He repeats that to himself until the pain in his heart subsides to a low throb.

Ladybug has already turned back to Puck. "I'm not purifying the akuma," she says.

Puck replies, ever-mocking, but Adrien doesn't hear the words. He breathes slowly, pulling painful words together. "You will," he finally says.

Ladybug's attention jerks back to him. "Cat Noir?"

Adrien drags a shaking breath through his lungs. "We're going to defeat Oberon," he says, "and you're going to purify the akuma."

Ladybug is silent for a long moment. "I don't understand," she says softly. "Don't you get it? _I'll forget_."

"But you'll do it," Adrien says, equally soft.

Ladybug shakes her head. "I _won't_ —" She gasps. "You … don't love me."

Adrien shudders. He feels older than he is, his heart crumbling in his chest like ancient, sunbleached clothing. He feels like Aspik again, desperate and impatient and helpless. He feels like Mister Bug, the weight of responsibility heavy on his shoulders and darkening his world. It would be easier for her to think that of him, wouldn't it? It would be easier to let her hate him, to think he's betrayed her, so that she could fight the akuma and forget without regrets …

Ladybug is still talking. "You never loved me, did you? It's been a … a joke, this whole time. I _knew it_ , but I still—"

Adrien snaps. "I love you _so much_ ," he snarls, unable to bear the unkindness of her thoughts, unable to watch her love twist so easily into hate. "I love you so much I want to keep you like this forever! But I also—I love you for being a _hero_ , Ladybug! For putting Paris first! I wish you wouldn't—I wish you could just be _mine_ —but I'm just being selfish, I know it's better this way. I want to be strong for you, my brave and bold and brilliant Ladybug! I want you to _choose me_ , and I can't have you like this because I'll always wonder if this is _real_ or if it's just … _magic_."

"I'm still me!" she spits back, almost before he's finished talking. "I _am_ choosing you! I remember everything! If it weren't for _him_ , I could have loved you sooner! I _would_ have loved you sooner! I know it!"

Her words are an unexpected balm on his aching heart. Adrien straightens, meets her eyes. "Then I'll wait," he says, suddenly calm.

"I don't _want_ you to wait," Ladybug begins raggedly.

Adrien stops her with a finger on her lips. "I'll still love you," he promises. "I'll wait, my Lady, as long as it takes."

Ladybug is shaking her head. "I don't want you to wait," she repeats, desperate. "I don't want to _hurt you_. I want to _love you back_."

Adrien smiles. "My Lady," he says gently, "you already do. You love me now. You'll love me again."

Ladybug's eyes are bright with tears. "But what if I don't?" she whispers.

He shakes his head. "You will," he promises, kissing her forehead. Then he turns to Puck. "Tell us how to defeat Oberon."

* * *

The evening sun is sinking behind the horizon, painting the sky with brilliant reds and deep violets as Cat Noir leaps across the Parisian rooftops. It's a beautiful sight; he stops on a nice rooftop by the Seine to enjoy the view.

The long summer days means that it is actually quite late. Adrien should be getting ready for bed right now. Instead, Cat Noir is out on patrol.

He checks the Ladyblog. Sure enough, there's a picture of their last kiss, their final moment together before the Lucky Charm had set things back. He can still hear her last whispered words in his ear: _"To remember me by."_

He misses her already, his sweet Ladybug. He wants her back.

It frightens him, how easy it was to let her love him, how easy it was to ignore that she was under the sway of magic. Even now, the thought gnaws at him. _Take her_ , it whispers. _She won't mind. She'll be yours. You'll live happily ever after._

The sun has fully set, but the sky still remembers its glow. Even so, dusk carries an unseasonal chill that seeps into Cat Noir's bones.

He closes the Ladyblog and sits down. The roof tiles have kept the day's heat, and it chases away some of the cold. He lies back, soaking in the lingering warmth, and closes his eyes.

"The final hour has arrived," says a mocking voice. "Just say the word: I shall provide."

Adrien doesn't look for the sentimonster, but he opens his eyes to watch the darkening sky. "Never again," he says softly. "Not if I can help it."

"We were well met; this is good-bye."

Adrien speaks without quite knowing why. "Wait."

"How quickly did you change your mind!"

"Not that," Adrien says, annoyed. "Just … Will you be okay on your own? If Mayura finds you …"

Puck scoffs. "Would that she knew, perhaps she would try; I give grace to you, who played my demise." He sounds as mocking as ever, but Adrien thinks that there's honesty, too. "Still, caution is wise. I'll soon take my leave. I'll fly 'til I spy my true lord, the Fey King."

Adrien finally turns toward the fairy. "The Fey King?" he repeats, astonished.

Puck winks. "I go, I go; look how I go, swifter than arrow from the Tartar's bow." He vanishes on the spot.

Adrien stares after him for a moment before returning his gaze to the still-darkening horizon. He stays there for a while longer, simply watching the sky.

Through a sea of stars, the moon rises full and yellow, reflecting the light of the fallen sun but none of its warmth. Adrien wonders at its brightness; wonders if it is false for the moon to borrow the light of the sun when it possesses none for itself.

The roof is cold. Cat Noir pulls himself to his feet and makes his way home, where he detransforms and burrows under his bed covers.

"Plagg," he whispers.

The kwami yawns. "Hmm?"

"Are fairies real?"

"Some of 'em, sure. His Majesty Oberon is an especially sanctimonious … fellow."

"So he's real? The 'Fey King' that Puck is looking for?"

Plagg yawns again. "Yup. But if he asks, don't say I told. He likes his secrecy."

"... Plagg?"

"Hm?"

"Ladybug _does_ love me, doesn't she?"

Plagg doesn't reply.

" _Plagg_."

The kwami grumbles to himself. "Fine, yes, she loves you," he eventually replies, quick and dismissive. Plagg has always been evasive and uncomfortable regarding Adrien's more romantic tendencies. Most of the time, Adrien lets it slide.

Most of the time. "I'm serious, Plagg."

The little cat groans. "Of course you are. I don't get you humans! You have the cheese right under your nose, and you still turn away. It'll spoil if you leave it for so long."

"Cheese isn't the same thing as love," Adrien scolds, but Plagg's words burn doubt into his heart. "Besides," he adds, "it wasn't her." He says this to remind himself as much as to remind Plagg.

Plagg doesn't buy it. "She said so herself, didn't she? That she was still Ladybug."

Adrien hesitates. "Yes," he finally agrees.

"So why didn't you just take up that sentimonster's offer?"

Guilt brews in his chest again, flooding into this throat and drowning him. "It's _wrong_ , Plagg."

"If you know that, then why are you still asking _me_?"

Adrien doesn't reply.

Plagg shakes his head pityingly. "Dumb kid," he says with sad affection, but he sounds almost admiring, too. "Let's stop with all this stupid 'love' stuff, already. Cheese is just better." He sighs longingly. "Did you see the moon tonight? All lovely and gold. What I would give for just a nibble! No, a lick!"

Adrien can't help but laugh. "The moon isn't made of cheese, Plagg."

"Lies and slander!"

When had he started grinning? He closes his eyes and lets the smile grow. "Good night, Plagg."

"No, not good night! Take back what you said about the moon! Adrien! … _Adrien_! You wretched little …! Don't think you've won this one, Adrien, we are going to talk about this tomorrow, and you _will_ admit that the moon is made of cheese."

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, the sun will rise. Tomorrow, he will see Ladybug again.

Tonight, Adrien sleeps and dreams.


End file.
